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Facing protectionism, Bush defends China trade
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-03-11 09:34
"It's an amazing country in many ways," Bush said of China. "It's a country
that has chosen the path, by and large, of markets and enterprise. They are an
economic issue for us, and that's why we've got a huge deficit with them."
But Bush said puts China in a different category than Iran and North Korea.
"China is a strategic partner when it comes to trade, for example. And I
can't say that about the other two countries," Bush said.
New York Democrat Senator Charles Schume is pushing legislation that would
impose a tariff of 27.5 percent on all Chinese imports unless China allows the
yuan to appreciate considerably. His proposal has attracted Senate support.
According to analysts, President Bush is likely to veto any such legislation.
But Schumer is confident that his proposal would gain enough votes to override a
presidential veto.
U.S. lawmakers from states with major agriculture industries have long been
the most reliable supporters of trade with China, viewing China as a large and
expanding market for American-grown food.
Despite China's official statistics showing a 2005 U.S. trade surplus of
US$114 billion, trade officials say China is not deliberately pursuing a trade
surplus with the United States but rather a balance in imports and exports.
On July 21 last year, China's central bank, the People's Bank of China,
raised the value of the yuan against the US dollar by 2.1% and adopted a
market-sensitive currency exchange policy. The policy allows the yuan's daily
rate to float in line with major world currency changes. The yuan has since
climbed a further one percent against the dollar.
Li Zhaoxing, China's Foreign Affairs Minister, said Tuesday in Beijing China
not only wants to import American Boeing planes, grain, citrus and other fruit,
it also wants to import high-value, high-tech computers and equipment. America
has refused to export such items to China since 1989, citing national security
reasons. Li noted inexpensive Chinese goods have helped America maintain high
living standards and helped reduce inflationary pressures.
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